snap cap

noun — 2 senses

snap cap

noun
1

Engineering, Firearms, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry A dummy round of ammunition used to check ammo feed and other mechanical problems.

  • 1187. B. Lilly. Improvements in the construction of "snap caps" or "nipple protectors" for firearms. Dated May 12, 1863.1863 December 18, The Mechanics' Magazine, page 889:
  • Snap caps are dummies (no powder, no primer, no projectile) shaped like the ammunition for a particular gun. They're supposed to provide something for the firing pin to hit during dryfiring, so the gun's lockwork doesn't have to absorb this impact. It's a fine idea, but not all snap caps are made right.2012, Silvio Calabi, The Gun Book for Boys:
1 more example
  • However, it does no harm (and may prevent damage) to use snap caps - dummy rounds which are inserted into the chamber to soften the impact of the firing pin.2014, MAssad Ayoob, Gun Safety in the Home, page 124:
2

A cap or cover that snaps into place.

  • Development of the snap cap for Bufferin pinpoints the Bristol-Myers Products approach to these problems.1966, Package Engineering, volume 11, page 66:
  • After centrifugation, the top dense band (out of three formed following ultracentrifugation) contained the purified oocysts, which were removed using a pipette and placed in 15 mL polypropylene snap cap tubes.1997, Gordon R. Finch, Effect of Various Disinfection Methods on the Inactivation of Cryptosporidium, page 10:
1 more example
  • The shampoo bottle closures included a screw cap closure considered to be the most vulnerable during use, a flip or snap cap with a circular orifice considered to offer the greatest degree of protection, and a flip cap with a slit orifice whose protective abilities were unknown at the time.2011, Nava Dayan, Formulating, Packaging, and Marketing of Natural Cosmetic Products:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.